Communication device and method

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a communication device capable of communicating with a terminal that performs wireless communication. The communication device includes a receiver configured to receive a request for network quality requirements from the terminal; a calculator configured to calculate network quality requirements available to the terminal; a determination unit configured to compare the request with the available network quality requirements to determine whether the request is acceptable; and a transmitter configured to transmit the result of the determination to the terminal.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a communication device and acommunication method in a wireless communication system.

BACKGROUND ART

The 3rd Generation Partnership (3rd GPP) project is considering awireless communication system called 5G or NR (hereinafter, the wirelesscommunication system is referred to as “5G” or “NR”), in order toachieve further increase in system capacity, further increase in datatransmission speed, and further decrease in the latency in the wirelesssection. In 5G, various wireless technologies are being discussed inorder to achieve a throughput of 10 Gbps or higher and to meet therequest of the latency of 1 ms or less in the wireless section.

In NR, a network architecture including 5GC (5G Core Network)corresponding to EPC (Evolved Packet Core), which is the core network inthe LTE (Long Term Evolution) network architecture, and NG-RAN (NextGeneration-Radio Access Network) corresponding to E-UTRAN (EvolvedUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access Network), which is the RAN (RadioAccess Network) in the LTE network architecture, is under consideration(for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

RELATED-ART DOCUMENT Non-Patent Document

-   [Non-Patent Document 1] 3GPP TS 23. 501 V15. 7. 0(2019-09)

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

There is a growing demand for line services that enable users to controlnetwork quality requirements on demand, as does the networkinfrastructure provided by NaaS (Network as a Service). In wirednetworks, NaaS is already available. In view of the introduction of 5GCin wireless networks and the support of wireless functions such as URLLC(Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications), NaaS may be provided by 5Gwireless access.

In NaaS via 5G wireless access, if a user assumes on-demand changes tonetwork quality requirements, the user may set network qualityrequirements before communication is initiated, through an applicationor web portal. For example, if the network is requested by a user toprovide communication to which QoS (Quality of Service) is applied, oneimplementation method may be to indicate, to the user, communicationquality that may be available, and determine the communication qualitybased on feedback from the user to provide communication.

However, the above method provides the user with the maximumcommunication quality that the network can provide. Since the resourcesheld by the network are finite, it is desirable to specify acommunication method that provides the minimum required communicationquality for each user.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and itis an object of the present invention to provide communication in awireless network in which QoS (Quality of Service) is applied inresponse to a request from a terminal.

Means for Solving the Problems

According to the disclosed technology, a communication device capable ofcommunicating with a terminal that performs wireless communication isprovided. The communication device includes a receiver configured toreceive a request for network quality requirements from the terminal; acalculator configured to calculate network quality requirementsavailable to the terminal; a determination unit configured to comparethe request with the available network quality requirements to determinewhether the request is acceptable; and a transmitter configured totransmit the result of the determination to the terminal.

Advantageous Effect of the Invention

According to the disclosed technology, communication may be provided ina wireless network to which the QoS (Quality of Service) is applied inresponse to a request from a terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a wireless network according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a core network according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example (1) of a functionalconfiguration of a system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example (2) of a functionalconfiguration of a system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configurationof a device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example (1) of controlpertaining to network quality according to an embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example (2) of controlpertaining to network quality according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described beloware examples, and the embodiments to which the present invention isapplied are not limited to the following embodiments.

In operating a wireless communication system according to an embodimentof the present invention, existing technologies are used as appropriate.However, the existing technology may, for example, be an existing LTE,but is not necessarily limited to an existing LTE. The term “LTE” asused herein shall also have a broad meaning including LTE-Advanced andLTE-Advanced or later forms (e.g., NR) or WLAN (Local Area Network),unless otherwise specified.

Further, in embodiments of the present invention, the parameter or thelike “configured” may be a predetermined value or a parameter indicatedby the base station 10, the terminal 20, the core network 30 or the QoScontrol web portal 40 may be configured.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a wireless network according to anembodiment of the present invention. A system including a wirelessnetwork in an embodiment of the present invention includes a basestation 10 and a terminal 20, as illustrated in FIG. 1 . In FIG. 1 , onebase station 10 and one terminal 20 are illustrated, but this is anexample and may be more than one each. Base station 10 may be referredto as a network node.

The base station 10 is a communication device that provides one or morecells and performs wireless communication with the terminal 20. Thephysical resources of the radio signal are defined in the time domainand the frequency domain, the time domain may be defined in OFDMsymbols, and the frequency domain may be defined in sub-carriers orresource blocks. The base station 10 transmits synchronization signalsand system information to the terminal 20. The synchronization signalsare, for example, NR-PSS (Primary Synchronization Signal) and NR-SSS(Secondary Synchronization Signal). System information is transmitted,for example, by NR-PBCH (Physical Broadcast Channel), also calledinformational information. As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the base station10 transmits a control signal or data to the terminal 20 by DL(Downlink) and receives a control signal or data by UL (Uplink) from theterminal 20. Both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 are capable ofbeam forming to transmit and receive signals. Both the base station 10and the terminal 20 may also apply MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output)communications to the DL or UL. Both the base station 10 and theterminal 20 may also communicate via a CA (Carrier Aggregation) via aSCell (Secondary Cell) and a PC (Primary Cell).

The terminal 20 is a communication device with a wireless communicationfunction, such as a smartphone, cellular phone, tablet, wearableterminal, and a communication module for M2M (Machine-to-Machine). Asillustrated in FIG. 1 , the terminal 20 utilizes various communicationservices provided by a wireless communication system by receivingcontrol signals or data at DL from the base station 10 and transmittingcontrol signals or data at UL to the base station 10. The terminal 20may also have a function as a client application that communicates withan application server disposed in the network.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a core network according to anembodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 2 , a systemcomprising a core network according to an embodiment of the presentinvention comprises a UE which is terminal 20 and a plurality of networknodes. The core network 30 in an embodiment of the present invention maycorrespond to one or more network nodes illustrated in FIG. 2 . The corenetwork 30 in an embodiment of the present invention may correspond toone or more network nodes illustrated in FIG. 2 . Hereinafter, onenetwork node corresponds to each function, but multiple functions may berealized by one network node or multiple network nodes may realize onefunction. Also, the “connection” described below may be a logicalconnection or a physical connection.

RAN (Radio Access Network) is a network node with wireless accessfunctions connected to UE, AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function)and UPF (User plane function). The base station 10 may be a network nodecorresponding to the RAN. AMF is a network node having functions such astermination of a RAN interface, termination of a NAS (Non-AccessStratum), registration management, connection management, reachabilitymanagement, and mobility management. UPF is a network node withfunctions such as a PDU (Protocol Data Unit) session point for externalinterconnection with DN (Data Network), packet routing and forwarding,and QoS (Quality of Service) handling on the user plane. UPF and DNcomprise network slices. In the wireless communication network accordingto an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of network slicesis constructed.

AMF is connected to UE, RAN, SMF (Session Management Function), NSSF(Network Slice Selection Function), NEF (Network Exposure Function), NRF(Network Repository Function), UDM (Unified Data Management), AUSF(Authentication Server Function), PCF (Policy Control Function), and AF(Application Function). AMF, SMF, NSSF, NEF, NRF, AUSF, PCF, and AF areinterconnected network nodes via their respective service-basedinterfaces, Namf, Nsmf, Nnssf, Nnef, Nnrf, Nudm, Nausf, Npcf, and Naf.

SMF is a network node having functions such as session management,Internet Protocol (IP) address assignment and management of UE, DHCP(DHCP) function, Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) proxy, and roamingfunction. NEF is a network node that has the capability to indicate, toother NFs (Network Functions), events and capabilities. NSSF is anetwork node that has functions such as selecting the network slice towhich the UE connects, determining the allowed NSSAI (Network SliceSelection Assistance Information), determining the NSSAI to be set, anddetermining the AMF set to which the UE connects. The PCF is a networknode having a function for controlling the policy of the network. AF isa network node that has the function of controlling an applicationserver. NRF is a network node that has the function of discovering NFinstances that provide services.

There is a growing demand for line services that enable users to controlnetwork quality requirements on demand, as does the networkinfrastructure provided by NaaS (Network as a Service). In wirednetworks, NaaS-like services are already provided. In view of theintroduction of 5GC in wireless networks and the support of wirelessfunctions such as URLLC (Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications),NaaS may be provided by 5G wireless access.

In NaaS via 5G wireless access, if a user assumes on-demand changes tonetwork quality requirements, the user may set network qualityrequirements through an application or web portal before communicationis initiated. For example, if the network requires communication towhich QoS (Quality of Service) is applied by a user, one implementationmethod may be to indicate, to the user, the communication quality thatmay be available, and determine the communication quality based onfeedback from the user to provide communication.

However, the above-described method provides the user with the maximumcommunication quality that the network can provide. Since the resourcesheld by the network are finite, it is desirable to specify acommunication method that provides the minimum required communicationquality for each user.

For example, a method of indicating, to a user, the communicationquality that may be available from the network side, feeding back thedesired communication quality to the network side based on thecommunication quality, and determining the communication quality that isprovided to the user based on the feedback may be considered.

However, it is assumed that the indicators of communication qualitycannot be set independently and correlate with each other. For example,when a low throughput is required, and when the encoding ratio islowered, reliability, which is another indicator, improves. Therefore,it is difficult for a user to determine whether the desiredcommunication quality can be provided even if information to set thecommunication quality is acquired from the network. Accordingly, it isdesirable for the network to determine the communication quality thatmay be available by the network to a user.

Accordingly, a communication device and a communication method thatprovide communication to which network quality control determined by thenetwork is applied in accordance with a request from a user in awireless network will be described below.

(Functional Configuration)

Functional configuration examples of the terminal 20, the core network30, and the QoS control web portal 40 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention will be described. The terminal 20, core network 30,and QoS control web portal 40 have functions to implement theembodiments described below. However, the terminal 20, the core network30 and the QoS control web portal 40 may each include only some of thefunctions in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example (1) of a functionalconfiguration of a system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. As illustrated in FIG. 3 , the terminal 20 is connected tothe core network 30 to transmit and receive information. The terminal 20includes an application unit 201 and a communication unit 202. The corenetwork 30 includes a calculator 301 and a determination unit 302. Theterminal 20 and the core network 30 may be capable of communicating viathe base station 10. The functional configuration illustrated in FIG. 3is only one example. If the operation according to the embodiments ofthe present invention may be performed, the functional category and thename of the functional unit may be any functional category and name.

The application unit 201 has functions pertaining to applications thatrequire network quality control. The application unit 201 has a functionto indicate, to the communication unit 202, the requested networkquality requirements and to indicate, to the communication unit 202, theacceptable network quality requirements in response to inquiries fromthe communication unit 202.

Network quality requirements are parameters related to network qualitycontrol, such as parameters related to RTT (Round trip time) with theserver or the latency such as user plane latency, jitter, reliability(e.g., ratio of packets satisfying the conditions among all packets),uplink data rate, and downlink data rate.

The communication unit 202 transmits a request based on a networkquality requirement obtained from the application unit 201 and thelocation information of the terminal 20 to the core network 30. Thecommunication unit 202 indicates, to the application unit 201, adetermination result based on the determination result pertaining to thenetwork quality requirement received from the core network 30. Thecommunication unit 202 performs communication in which the networkquality control is applied based on the determination result.

The network quality control at the network side may be performed by abase station 10 (e.g., eNB or gNB) that controls wireless resources, ora core network 30 (e.g., EPC or network node included in 5GC) thatcontrols QCI (QoS Class Identifier).

The calculator 301 calculates the available network quality requirementsbased on the location information of the terminal 20 and indicates, tothe determination unit 302, the available network quality requirements.

The determination unit 302 compares the network quality requirementsreceived from the terminal 20 with the available network qualityrequirements indicated by the calculator 301 and determines adetermination result and transmits the determination result to theterminal 20. That is, the determination unit 302 has a receptionfunction and a transmission function. Details of the operation relatedto the determination will be described later.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example (2) of a functionalconfiguration of a system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. The system illustrated in FIG. 4 is configured to include aQoS control web portal 40 in addition to the terminal 20 and the corenetwork 30. The terminal 20 and the core network 30 are similar to thoseillustrated in FIG. 3 . As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the terminal 20, thecore network 30, and the QoS control web portal 40 are connected to eachother to transmit and receive information.

The QoS control web portal 40 includes an input unit 401 and a storageunit 402. The QoS control Web portal 40 may be controlled, for example,by a content provider or the like.

Input unit 401 can set the network quality requirements on anapplication-by-application or Uniform Resource Locator (URL) basis. Theset network quality requirement is recorded in the storage unit 402. Theinput unit 401 transmits the set network quality requirement to theterminal 20 and shares the set network quality with the application unit201 of the terminal 20. The input unit 401 may transmit the set networkquality requirements and the request for the network qualityrequirements transmitted from the communication unit 202 simultaneouslyto the core network 30.

(Hardware Configuration)

Block diagrams (FIGS. 3 and 4 ) used in the description of the aboveembodiments illustrate blocks of functional units. These functionalblocks (components) are implemented by any combination of hardwareand/or software. In addition, the implementation method of each functionblock is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may beimplemented using a single device that is physically or logicallycombined, or two or more devices that are physically or logicallyseparated may be directly or indirectly connected (e.g., using wired,wireless, etc.) and implemented using these multiple devices. Thefunctional block may be implemented by combining software with thedevice or devices.

Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination,determination, calculation, calculation, processing, derivation,research, search, verification, reception, transmission, output, access,resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption,expectation, and deeming; broadcasting, notifying, communicating,forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, andassigning. For example, a functional block (component) for functioningtransmission is called a transmitting unit or a transmitter. In eithercase, as described above, the realization method is not particularlylimited.

For example, the network node, terminal 20, or the like according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer forprocessing the wireless communication method of the present disclosure.FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configurationof a device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Theterminal 20, core network 30, and QoS control web portal 40 may beconfigured as a computer device including, physically, a processor 1001,storage device 1002, auxiliary storage device 1003, communication device1004, input device 1005, output device 1006, bus 1007, and the like.

In the following description, the term “apparatus” may be read ascircuits, devices, units, etc. The hardware configuration of the networknode and terminal 20 may be configured to include one or more of thedevices illustrated in the figure or may be configured without some ofthe devices.

Each function in the network node and the terminal 20 is realized byperforming an operation by the processor 1001 by reading predeterminedsoftware (programs) on hardware such as the processor 1001 and thestorage device 1002, and controlling communication by the communicationdevice 1004 and controlling at least one of reading and writing of datain the storage device 1002 and the auxiliary storage device 1003.

The processor 1001 operates, for example, an operating system to controlthe entire computer. The processor 1001 may be comprised of a centralprocessing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, acontroller, a calculator, a register, and the like. For example, theapplication unit 201, the communication unit 202, the calculator 301,and the determination unit 302 may be implemented by the processor 1001.

The processor 1001 reads out a program (program code), software module,data, or the like from at least one of the auxiliary storage device 1003and the communication device 1004 to the storage device 1002 andperforms various processing in accordance with the above program. As aprogram, a program that causes a computer to execute at least a part ofthe operation described in the above-described embodiment is used. Forexample, the application unit 201 or the communication unit 202 of theterminal 20 illustrated in FIG. 3 may be stored in the storage device1002 and implemented by a control program operating in the processor1001. For example, the calculator 301 or the determination unit 302 ofthe core network 30 illustrated in FIG. 3 may be stored in the storagedevice 1002 and implemented by a control program operating in theprocessor 1001. For example, the input unit 401 of the QoS control webportal 40 illustrated in FIG. 4 may be stored in the storage device 1002and implemented by a control program operating in the processor 1001.Although the foregoing processes have been described and executed by oneprocessor 1001, they may be executed simultaneously or sequentially bytwo or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented byone or more chips. The program may be transmitted from the network via atelecommunication line.

The storage device 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and maybe comprised of at least one of, for example, ROM (Read Only Memory),EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically ErasableProgrammable ROM), RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The storagedevice 1002 may be referred to as a register, cache, main memory (mainmemory), or the like. The storage device 1002 can store programs(program codes), software modules, etc., executable to implement acommunication method according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

The auxiliary storage device 1003 is a computer-readable recordingmedium and may comprise at least one of an optical disk, such as aCD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, amagneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, aBlu-ray disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, akey drive), a floppy disk, a magnetic strip, and the like. The storagemedium described above may be, for example, a database, a server, orother suitable medium that includes at least one of a storage device1002 and an auxiliary storage device 1003. For example, the storagesection 402 of the QoS control web portal 40 illustrated in FIG. 4 maybe implemented by a storage device 1002 or an auxiliary storage device1003.

The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmitting/receivingdevice) for performing communication between computers via at least oneof a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as anetwork device, a network controller, a network card, a communicationmodule, or the like. The communication device 1004 may comprise a highfrequency switch, duplexer, filter, frequency synthesizer, or the like,for example, to implement at least one of a frequency division duplexand a time division duplex. For example, the transmitting/receivingantenna, the amplifier unit, the transmitting/receiving unit, thetransmission line interface, and the like may be implemented by thecommunication device 1004. The transmitting/receiving unit may bephysically or logically isolated implementations of the transmitter andreceiver. For example, the communication function of the communicationunit 202 of the terminal 20 illustrated in FIG. 3 , the determinationunit 302 of the core network 30, and the input unit 401 of the QoScontrol web portal 40 illustrated in FIG. 4 may be implemented by thecommunication device 1004.

The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., a keyboard, mouse,microphone, switch, button, sensor, etc.) that receives an externalinput. The output device 1006 is an output device (e.g., a display,speaker, LED lamp, etc.) that implements an external output. The inputdevice 1005 and the output device 1006 may have an integralconfiguration (for example, a touch panel).

Respective devices, such as processor 1001 and storage device 1002, areconnected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 maybe constructed using a single bus or may be constructed using differentbuses between devices.

The network node and terminal 20 may also comprise hardware, such as amicroprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC (ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and anFPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), by which some or all of thefunction blocks may be realized. For example, processor 1001 may beimplemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

Examples

The terminal 20 may inform the core network 30 of multiple items ofnetwork quality requirements, and the core network 30 may determine thequality that may be available. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustratingan example (1) of control pertaining to network quality according to anembodiment of the present invention.

In step S11, the application unit 201 may indicate, to the communicationunit 202, priority and corresponding values on a per network qualityrequirement basis. Table 1 illustrates examples of priorities on a pernetwork quality requirement basis.

TABLE 1 NW QUALITY REQUIREMENT FIRST SECOND THIRD ITEMS PRIORITYPRIORITY PRIORITY USER PLANE 25 ms 50 ms  75 ms LATENCY JITTER 10 ms 30ms 100 ms UPLINK DATA 500 Mbps 200 Mbps 100 Mbps RATE DOWNLINK DATA 750Mbps 500 Mbps 300 Mbps RATE

As illustrated in Table 1, a first priority value, a second priorityvalue, and a third priority value are set to each of the user planelatency, jitter, uplink data rate, and downlink data rate, which are thenetwork quality requirement items. Note that the network qualityrequirement items are examples and may be other items. A differentnumber of candidates may be set on a per network quality requirementitem basis. For example, the user plane latency may include settingsfrom the first priority to the fourth priority, and jitter may includesettings from the first priority to the second priority. The firstpriority value, the second priority value, and the third priority valuemay be an index or identifier that uniquely identifies the correspondingnumerical value in the determination unit 302 of the core network 30rather than the numerical value itself.

In step S11, the application unit 201 may indicate, to the communicationunit 202, that, for example, the QoS control or the priority control isrequested with respect to the user plane latency without including aspecific value. The communication unit 202 that receives the indicationmay set one specific value that is the first priority as the networkquality requirement with respect to the user plane latency.

In step S12, the communication unit 202 transmits a request for thenetwork quality requirement and the terminal location information to thedetermination unit 302. The request for the network quality requirementmay be, for example, information illustrated in Table 1, i.e.,item-specific priorities and corresponding values for network qualityrequirements. Table 2 illustrates an example of terminal locationinformation.

TABLE 2 LOCATION (LATITUDE: 139° 44′ 28″ 8759 EAST, INFORMATIONLONGITUDE: 35° 39′ 29″ 1572 NORTH)

Geographical location information representing the longitude andlatitude where the terminal 20 illustrated in Table 2 is located may beindicated to the determination unit 302. For example, the locationinformation of the terminal 20 may be information by GNSS (GlobalNavigation Satellite System) or may include information indicative ofheight or altitude. If the core network 30 is location informationcapable of determining the available network quality requirements at thelocation of the terminal 20, the core network 30 may be of any kind.

The geographical location information indicated to the determinationunit 302 may be the geographical location information calculated byusing the network function such as the base station 10. The geographicallocation information of the terminal 20 is not limited to that indicatedby the terminal 20 to the determination unit 302. The determination unit302 may use the geographical location information of the terminal 20acquired on the network side.

In step S13, the determination unit 302 transmits the terminal locationinformation to the calculator 301. Subsequently, the calculator 301determines the available network quality requirements, for example, asillustrated in Table 3, based on the terminal location information.

TABLE 3 NW QUALITY REQUIREMENT AVAILABLE ITEMS VALUES USER PLANE LATENCY20 ms (U-PLANE LATENCY) JITTER 40 ms UPLINK DATA RATE 300 Mbps DOWNLINKDATA RATE 450 Mbps

As illustrated in Table 3, the calculator 301 determines values that maybe available on a per network quality requirement item basis. Thenetwork quality requirement items that determine the available valuesmay be predefined or indicated by the determination unit 302. The methodof determining available network quality requirement items is notlimited. For example, the determination may be based on a database inwhich network quality requirements corresponding to the locationinformation have been recorded in advance, or it may be based on anoperation using the state of the core network. In step S14, thecalculator 301 transmits the available network quality requirements tothe determination unit 302.

In Step S11, when the application unit 201 indicates, to thecommunication unit 202, that the QoS control or the priority control isrequested without including the specific request value or including thespecific request value, the calculator 301 may determine network qualityrequirements with the first priority as available network qualityrequirements provided that the number of persons or the amount oftraffic per base station or cell does not exceed the specific value.

In Step S11, when the application unit 201 indicated, to thecommunication unit 202, that the QoS control or the priority control isrequested without including the specific request value or including thespecific request value, the calculator 301 may determine network qualityrequirements with the first priority as available network qualityrequirements provided that no special circumstances such as a disasteroccurs, including a situation where an emergency call is received.

In Step S11, when the application unit 201 indicates, to thecommunication unit 202, that the QoS control or the priority control isrequested with respect to the user plane latency without including orincluding the specific request value, the calculator 301 may determinenetwork quality requirements with the first priority as availablenetwork quality requirements provided that the network device includingthe base station is not faulty.

In Step S15, the determination unit 302 makes determination based on therequest for the network quality requirements received in Step S12 andthe available network quality requirements received in Step S14. Table 4is an example of the determination result when the network qualityrequirements are those in Table 1 and the available network qualityrequirements are those in Table 3.

TABLE 4 NW QUALITY REQUIREMENT ACCEPTABLE ITEMS REQUESTS USER PLANELATENCY FIRST PRIORITY (U-PLANE LATENCY) JITTER THIRD PRIORITY UPLINKDATA RATE SECOND PRIORITY DOWNLINK DATA RATE THIRD PRIORITY

The determination unit 302 determines whether the available values meetthe values corresponding to those priorities in order of priority on aper network quality requirement item basis. If the available valuessatisfy the values corresponding to the priorities, then the priority ofthe acceptable request is determined. If the available value does notmeet the value corresponding to any of the priorities, then the networkquality requirement item is determined to be “unacceptable”.

For example, since the user plane latency has a value corresponding tothe first priority of 25 ms and a value corresponding to the availablevalue of 20 ms, the determination unit 302 determines a “first priority”as an acceptable request, as illustrated in Table 4. For example, sincethe jitter has a value corresponding to the second priority of 30 ms, avalue corresponding to the third priority of 40 ms, and a valuecorresponding to the third priority of 100 ms, the determination unit302 determines a “third priority” as an acceptable request asillustrated in Table 4. For example, since the uplink data rate has avalue corresponding to the first priority of 500 Mbps, a valuecorresponding to the second priority of 300 Mbps, and a valuecorresponding to the second priority of 200 Mbps, the determination unit302 determines the “second priority” as an acceptable request asillustrated in Table 4. For example, since the value corresponding tothe second priority is 500 Mbps, the value corresponding to the thirdpriority is 450 Mbps, and the value corresponding to the third priorityis 300 Mbps, the determination unit 302 determines the third priority asan acceptable request as illustrated in Table 4.

In Step S11, when the application unit 201 indicates, to thecommunication unit 202, that the QoS control or the priority control isrequested without including a specific request value, the determinationunit 302 may output a determination result indicating whether the firstpriority is satisfied on a per network quality requirement item basis.

In Step S16, the determination unit 302 transmits the determinationresult illustrated in Table 4 to the communication unit 202.Subsequently, the communication unit 202 transmits the determinationresult to the application unit 201 (S17). In step S18, when none of theitems of the network quality requirement requested in the determinationresult is “unacceptable”, the application unit 201 and the communicationunit 202 start the network quality control. On the other hand, when atleast one of the items of the network quality requirement requested inthe determination result is “unacceptable”, the communication unit 202does not perform the network quality control.

As described in the above example, the priority order and thecorresponding value are indicated by the terminal 20 to the core network30, but it is not necessary to explicitly transmit the priority orderfrom the terminal 20. A plurality of candidates may be indicated ty theterminal 20 to the core network 30 and returned according to specificrules as to which candidates are acceptable or unacceptable. Forexample, when sent from the terminal 20, each of a plurality ofcandidates may be assigned an identifier, and the identifier may be usedas a criterion for which candidate is to be adopted on the core network30 side.

As described above, network quality control may be performed withnetwork quality requested by the terminal 20 on a per network qualityrequirement item basis.

As another example, in step S11, the application unit 201 may set aplurality of sets of network quality requirements and indicate them tothe communication unit 202. Table 5 illustrates an example in whichthree sets of network quality requirements are set. The set of networkquality requirements may be set to one or two, or four or more.

TABLE 5 NW QUALITY REQUIREMENT ITEMS HIGH MIDDLE LOW USER PLANE 25 ms 50ms  75 ms LATENCY JITTER 10 ms 30 Ms 100 ms UPLINK DATA 500 Mbps 200Mbps 100 Mbps RATE DOWNLINK DATA 750 Mbps 500 Mbps 300 Mbps RATE

As illustrated in Table 5, for example, a set of network qualityrequirements may be provided with a priority order of “High”, “Middle”,and “Low”. When the request for the network quality requirementsincludes network quality requirements illustrated in Table 5, thedetermination unit 302 determines whether available values satisfy allthe values of the set of items of the network quality requirements inthe order of “High”, “Middle”, and “Low”, in Step S15. When theavailable values satisfy all the values of the set, the available valuesare determined to be an acceptable set. When the available values do notsatisfy at least one of the values of the set, the set of items will beconsidered unacceptable. When the available values are unacceptable ineither set, then the network quality requirement items are determined tobe “unacceptable”.

For example, when the network quality requirement items are those inTable 5 and the available network quality requirement items are those inTable 3, then the set “High” is determined to be unacceptable becausejitter, uplink data rate and downlink data rate exceed the availablevalues. The set “Middle” is determined to be unacceptable because thejitter and the downlink data rate exceed the available values. On theother hand, the set “Low” is determined to be acceptable because all ofthe network quality requirement items are satisfied by the availablevalues, and information indicating that set “Low” is acceptable as thedetermination result, may be indicated to the communication unit 202.When any set of “High”, “Middle”, or “Low” is unacceptable, the“unacceptable” may be indicated as the determination result to thecommunication unit 202.

In step S18, the application unit 201 and the communication unit 202start the network quality control when the received determination resultis acceptable to any set of network quality requirements. In contrast,the application unit 201 and the communication unit 202 do not performnetwork quality control when the received determination result isunacceptable to all the sets of network quality requirements.

As described above, by determining whether each set of network qualityrequirements is acceptable or unacceptable, signaling capacity can bereduced in a manner consistent with the discrete mode switchingimplementation, for example, high-quality mode or low-quality mode usedin applications. When the network quality requirement items arerequested individually, for example, when a higher requirement isavailable for a given item but there is another item that can onlyprovide a lower requirement, then the higher requirement item cannot befully utilized and the resource may be wasted. On the other hand, when aset of network quality requirement items is requested, each set meetsthe network quality requirement items used in the application, thusmaking full use of the resources.

As another example, in step S11, the application unit 201 may set aplurality of sets of the network quality requirements for each value ofthe network key item and indicate them to the communication unit 202.Table 6 illustrates an example in which three sets of network qualityrequirements are set when the network key item is “Reliability”. Thenumber of sets specified by a network key entry may be set to one ortwo, or four or more. Reliability may be defined as the number ofpackets that meet the network quality requirements, or as the percentageof time space that meets the network quality requirements.

TABLE 6 RELIABILITY NW QUALITY RELIABILITY (99% OR MORE RELIABILITYREQUIREMENT (LESS THAN AND LESS (99.99% OR ITEMS 99%) THAN 99.99%) MORE)USER PLANE 25 ms 50 ms  7.5 ms LATENCY JITTER 10 ms 30 ms  100 ms UPLINKDATA 500 Mbps 200 Mbps 100 Mbps RATE DOWNLINK 750 Mbps 500 Mbps 300 MbpsDATA RATE

Network key items may be used in the case where conditions or levels ofother items are acceptable under relaxed conditions or at low levels,provided the “network key item” meets stringent conditions or standards.Conversely, if the “network key item” is loose or low, the conditions ofother items may be stricter or the level of other items may be higher.For example, the set of reliability (>99.99%) in Table 6 is anacceptable example with a high latency and a low data rate if thereliability is high.

In addition to reliability, network key items may be changed byapplications such as “whether D2D communication is possible”, “userplane latency”, or “uplink data rate”, etc., and are not limited. Thenetwork key items may be dependent on other items. The network key itemmay consist of multiple items. For example, a network key item may be aset of three items: reliability, user plane latency, and uplink datarate.

Tables 7 and 8 are examples of available network quality requirements,and “Reliability” is included as an item of network qualityrequirements.

TABLE 7 NW QUALITY REQUIREMENT AVAILABLE ITEMS VALUES RELIABILITY 99.9%USER PLANE LATENCY 20 ms (U-PLANE LATENCY) JITTER 25 ms UPLINK DATA RATE300 Mbps DOWNLINK DATA RATE 600 Mbps

TABLE 8 NW QUALITY REQUIREMENT AVAILABLE ITEMS VALUES RELIABILITY 99.9%USER PLANE LATENCY 20 ms (U-PLANE LATENCY) JITTER 40 ms UPLINK DATA RATE300 Mbps DOWNLINK DATA RATE 450 Mbps

For example, the operation of step S15 will be described when thenetwork quality requirements are those in Table 6 and the availablenetwork quality requirements are those in Table 7. Since the reliabilityof the available network key item is 99.9%, the determination unit 302makes determination based on the request for the network qualityrequirements. The set of the available network quality requirementscorresponds to “Reliability (less than 99%) and “Reliability (99% toless than 99.99%)” of the network key items. A set of network key itemscorresponding to “Reliability (99.99% or more)” is not determinedbecause the reliability of the available network quality requirementsexceeds 99.9%.

When comparing the requested network quality requirements having the“Reliability (<99%)” with the available network quality requirements,none of user plane latency, jitter, uplink data rate, and downlink datarate meets the request. On the other hand, when comparing the networkquality requirements requested for “Reliability (99% to less than99.991)” with the available network quality requirements, the user planelatency, jitter, uplink data rate, and downlink data rate all meet therequests. Therefore, the determination result is as illustrated in Table9.

TABLE 9 RELIABILITY NW QUALITY RELIABILITY (99% OR MORE RELIABILITYREQUIREMENT (LESS THAN AND LESS (99.99% OR ITEMS 99%) THAN 99.99%) MORE)USER PLANE NG OK — LATENCY JITTER NG OK — UPLINK DATA NG OK — RATEDOWNLINK NG OK — DATA RATE

As illustrated in Table 9, since reliability (less than 99%) is NG andreliability (not less than 99% but less than 99.99%) is OK, thereliability (not less than 99% but less than 99.99%) being acceptable istransmitted to the communication unit 202 as a determination result, andnetwork quality control is started.

For example, an operation of step S15 will be described when the requestfor the network quality requirements includes network qualityrequirements in Table 6 and the available network quality requirementsare those in Table 8. Since the reliability of the available network keyitem is 99.9%, the determination unit 302 makes determination based onthe request for the network quality requirements. The set of theavailable network quality requirements corresponds to “Reliability (lessthan 99%) and “Reliability (99% to less than 99.99%)” of the network keyitem. A set of network key items corresponding to “Reliability (99.99%or more)” is not determined because the reliability of the availablenetwork quality requirements exceeds 99.9%.

When comparing the requested network quality requirements having the“Reliability (<99%)” with the available network quality requirements,none of user plane latency, jitter, uplink data rate, and downlink datarate meets the requests. On the other hand, when comparing the requestednetwork quality requirements having the “Reliability (99% to less than99.99%)” with the available network quality requirements, the user planelatency and uplink data rate meet the requests, but the jitter anddownlink data rate do not meet the requests. Thus, the determinationresults are as illustrated in Table 10.

TABLE 10 RELIABILITY NW QUALITY RELIABILITY (99% OR MORE RELIABILITYREQUIREMENT (LESS THAN AND LESS (99.99% OR ITEMS 99%) THAN 99.99%) MORE)USER PLANE NG OK — LATENCY JITTER NG NG — UPLINK DATA NG OK — RATEDOWNLINK NG NG — DATA PATE

As illustrated in Table 10, since reliability (less than 99%) is NG andreliability (99% or more but less than 99.99%) is NG, the requirementsbeing unacceptable is transmitted to the communication unit 202 as adetermination result of the that it is unacceptable, and the networkquality control is not performed.

As noted above, by setting and requesting a set of network qualityrequirements for each value of a network key item, a more flexible NaaSservice may be provided that is compatible with the application's usecase.

As another example, in step S11, the application unit 201 may set aplurality of sets of the network quality requirements for each value ofthe network key item and indicate, to the communication unit 202, theset result. That is, Table 5 and Table 6 may be combined to providenetwork quality requirements. Table 11 illustrates the combined networkquality requirements in Table 5 and Table 6.

TABLE 11 NW QUALITY REQUIREMENT ITEMS RELIABILITY RELIABILITY (99% ORMORE AND RELIABILITY (LESS THAN 99%) LESS THAN 99.99%) (99.99% OR MORE)PATTERN HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW USER PLANE 25 ms 35 ms 50 ms 60 ms 75ms 90 ms LATENCY (U-PLANE LATENCY) JITTER 10 ms 20 ms 30 ms 50 ms 100 ms120 ms UPLINK 500 Mbps 300 Mbps 200 Mbps 150 Mbps 100 Mbps 50 Mbps DATARATE DOWNLINK 750 Mbps 500 Mbps 500 Mbps 400 Mbps 300 Mbps 200 Mbps DATARATE

For example, the operation of step S15 will be described when thenetwork quality requirements are those in Table 11 and the availablenetwork quality requirements are those in Table 7. Since the reliabilityof the available network key item is 99.9%, the determination unit 302makes determination based on the request for the network qualityrequirements. The set of the available network quality requirementscorresponds to “Reliability (less than 99%) and “Reliability (99% toless than 99.99%)” of the network key item. A set of network key itemscorresponding to “Reliability (99.99% or more)” is not determinedbecause the reliability of the available network quality requirementsexceeds 99.9%.

Comparing the requested network quality requirements having the“Reliability” (less than 99%) and “High” with the available networkquality requirements, neither user plane latency, jitter, uplink datarate, nor downlink data rate meets the requests. When comparing therequested network quality requirements having the “Reliability” (lessthan 99=) and “Low” with the available network quality requirements, thejitter and downlink data rates of those meeting the requirements are notmet. Therefore, the determination result indicates that neither “High”nor “Low” is acceptable for “Reliability (<99%)”.

When the requested network quality requirements having the “Reliability(99% to less than 99.99%) and “High” are compared to the availablenetwork quality requirements, the user plane latency, jitter, uplinkdata rate, and downlink data rate all meet the requests. Therefore, thedetermination results are acceptable for “Reliability (99% to less than99.99%) and “High”.

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example (2) of controlpertaining to network quality according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. If the determination result transmitted from thedetermination unit 302 to the communication unit 202 is unacceptable, analternative may be added. Steps S21 through S24 illustrated in FIG. 7are similar to Steps S11 through S14 illustrated in FIG. 6 .

In step S25, the determination unit 302 makes determination based on therequest for the network quality requirements received in step S22 andthe network quality requirements received in step S24. Table 12indicates examples of the network quality requirements.

TABLE 12 NW QUALITY REQUIREMENT ITEMS REQUESTS USER PLANE LATENCY 25 ms(U-PLANE LATENCY) JITTER 10 ms UPLINK DATA RATE 500 Mbps DOWNLINK DATARATE 750 Mbps

For example, when the network quality requirements are those in Table 12and the available network quality requirements are those in Table 3, theuser plane latency meets the request while jitter, uplink data rate, anddownlink data rate do not meet the request. Therefore, the networkquality requirement is determined to be unacceptable. Alternatively,alternatives to the network quality requirements, such as thoseillustrated in Table 13, may be generated.

TABLE 13 NW QUALITY REQUIREMENT ITEMS ALTERNATIVES USER PLANE LATENCY 20ms (U-PLANE LATENCY) JITTER 40 ms UPLINK DATA RATE 300 Mbps DOWNLINKDATA RATE 450 Mbps

Note that the alternatives illustrated in Table 13 are examples that arethe same as the available network quality requirements, but thealternatives may differ from the available network quality requirements.Alternatively, when the network quality requirements are thoseillustrated in Table 5, the alternatives may be either “High”, “Middle”or “Low”. Alternatively, when the network quality requirements are thoseillustrated in Table 6, the alternatives may be a set corresponding tonetwork key items. The alternative measure is not limited to one, andthe plurality of alternatives may be transmitted from the determinationunit 302 to the communication unit 202.

In step 526, the determination unit 302 transmits the determinationresult and alternatives to the communication unit 202 when thedetermination result is unacceptable. Subsequently, in S27, thecommunication unit 202 transmits the determination result and thealternatives to the application unit 201 when the determination resultis unacceptable. In step S28, when the determination result isunacceptable, the application unit 201 determines whether thealternatives are acceptable.

In step S29, the application unit 201 and the communication unit 202start network quality control when the determination result transmittedfrom the determination unit 302 is acceptable or when the alternativesare acceptable. Meanwhile, the application unit 201 and thecommunication unit 202 do not perform network quality control when thealternatives are unacceptable.

As noted above, when the network quality requirements are unacceptable,the core network 30 may respond to the terminal 20 with alternatives toincrease the likelihood that the application will immediately initiatenetwork quality control.

According to the above-described embodiment, network quality control maybe performed based on network quality calculated from the locationinformation of the terminal 20 and network quality requested by theterminal 20. On a per network quality requirement item basis, networkquality control may be performed with network quality requested by theterminal 20. Also, by determining whether a set of network qualityrequirements is acceptable or unacceptable, signaling capacity may bereduced. In addition, when a set of network quality requirements itemsis requested, resources may be fully utilized because each set conformsto items of the network quality requirements used in the application. Inaddition, by setting and requesting a set of network qualityrequirements for each value of a network key item, a more flexible NaaSservice may be provided that is compatible with the application's usecase. Also, if the network quality requirements are unacceptable, thecore network 30 may respond to the terminal 20 with alternatives toincrease the likelihood that the application will immediately initiatenetwork quality control.

In other words, it is possible to provide communication in which QoS(Quality of Service) is applied in the wireless network according to therequest for the terminal.

(Summary of Embodiments)

As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention,a communication device capable of communicating with a terminalperforming wireless communication, the communication device including areceiver that receives a request for a network quality requirement fromthe terminal, a calculator that calculates a network quality requirementthat may be available to the terminal, a determination unit thatcompares the request for the available network quality requirement todetermine whether the request is acceptable, and a receiver thattransmits a result of the determination to the terminal is provided.

With the above-described configuration, the QoS control may be performedbased on the network quality calculated from the location information ofthe terminal 20 and the network quality requested by the terminal 20. Inother words, it is possible to provide communication in which QoS(Quality of Service) is applied in the wireless network according to therequest for the terminal.

The request includes settings of a plurality of values for each of theitems included in the network quality requirements, and thedetermination unit may determine, for each of the items, which of theplurality of values is acceptable and which is unacceptable. Theconfiguration allows QoS control to be performed on a per networkquality requirement item basis at the network quality requested by theterminal 20.

The request includes one or more sets containing values corresponding toeach of the items included in the network quality requirements, whereinthe determination unit is a result of the determination the set in whichall of the items met the corresponding values of the available networkquality requirements, and in which case the precedence may be set toeach of the sets. With this configuration, and when a set of networkquality requirement items is requested, each set can make full use ofresources because it conforms to the network quality requirement itemsused in applications. Also, by determining whether a set of networkquality requirements is acceptable or unacceptable, signaling capacitymay be reduced.

The requirement may be directed to determining each item of a setdefined by one or more of the items defining the set that includes aplurality of sets containing values corresponding to each of the itemsincluded in the network quality requirements, where the item or itemsdefining the first set is lower than the item or items defining thesecond set, wherein items other than the item or items defining thefirst set are higher than items other than the item or items definingthe second set, and wherein the determination unit determines each itemof the set defined by the item or items defining the set that is lowerthan the item or items defining the set that satisfies the availablenetwork quality requirements. This configuration allows for moreflexible NaaS services to be provided for the application's use case bysetting and requesting a set of network quality requirements for eachvalue of network key item.

The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter transmits analternative network quality requirement to the terminal when thedetermination unit determines that the request is not acceptable. Whenthe configuration makes the network quality requirement unacceptable,the core network 30 may respond to the terminal 20 with alternatives toincrease the likelihood that the application will immediately initiateQoS control.

The receiver receives from the terminal the location information of theterminal, and the calculator may calculate network quality requirementsavailable to the terminal based on the location information. With thisconfiguration, the QoS control may be performed based on the networkquality calculated from the location information of the terminal 20 andthe network quality requested by the terminal 20.

Items included in the network quality requirements may include at leastone of latency parameters, jitter, uplink data rates, and downlink datarates. The configuration allows QoS control to be performed on a pernetwork quality requirement item basis at the network quality requestedby the terminal 20.

Further, according to an embodiment of the present invention, acommunication method is performed by a communication device capable ofcommunicating with a terminal that performs wireless communication,wherein a communication method is provided which performs: a receptionprocedure for receiving a request for a network quality requirementpertaining to QoS (Quality of Service) and location information of theterminal from the terminal; an operation procedure for calculatingavailable network quality requirements to the terminal based on saidlocation information; a determination procedure for comparing therequest for the available network quality requirement to determinewhether the request is acceptable; and a transmission procedure fortransmitting a result of said determination to the terminal.

With the above-described configuration, the QoS control may be performedbased on the network quality calculated from the location information ofthe terminal 20 and the network quality requested by the terminal 20. Inother words, it is possible to provide communication in which QoS(Quality of Service) is applied in the wireless network according to therequest for the terminal.

(Supplement to Embodiments)

Thus, although embodiments of the present invention have been described,the disclosed invention is not limited to such embodiments, and variousmodifications, modifications, alternatives, substitutions, etc. will beunderstood by those skilled in the art. Specific numerical examples havebeen used to facilitate understanding of the invention, but unlessotherwise indicated, they are merely examples and any appropriate valuesmay be used. Classification of items in the above description is notessential to the present invention, and the items described in two ormore items may be used in combination as needed, or the items describedin one item may be applied to the items described in another item(unless there is a conflict). The functional or processing unitboundaries in the functional block diagram do not necessarily correspondto the physical part boundaries. The operation of the plurality offunctions may be performed physically by one component, or the operationof one function may be performed physically by the plurality ofcomponents. As for the processing procedure described in the embodiment,the order of the processing may be changed unless there is no conflict.For purposes of illustration, network nodes and terminals 20 have beendescribed using a functional block diagram, but such devices may beimplemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Softwareoperated by processors of network nodes in accordance with embodimentsof the present invention and software operated by processors ofterminals 20 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention maybe stored in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory(ROM), EPROM, EEPROM, register, hard disk (HDD), removable disk, CD-ROM,database, server, or any other suitable storage medium.

Information may also be communicated in other ways, as well as in themanner/embodiments described in this disclosure. For example, indicationof information may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., DCI(Downlink Control Information), UCI (Uplink Control Information), upperlayer signaling (e.g., RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling, MAC(Medium Access Control) signaling, MIB (Master Information Block), SIB(System Information Block)), other signals, or a combination thereof.The RRC signaling may also be referred to as an RRC message, forexample, RRC Connection Setup (RRC Connection Setup) message, RRCConnection Reconstruction (RRC Connection Reconstruction) message, orthe like.

Each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure is as follows: LTE(Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G(4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobilecommunication system), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), W-CDMA(registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000 UMB (UltraMobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20(Ultra-WideBand), Bluetooth (Registered), It may be applied to at leastone of the systems utilizing other appropriate systems and the nextgeneration systems extended thereon. Multiple systems may also beapplied in combination (e.g., at least one of LTE and LTE-A combinedwith 5G, etc.).

The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of eachaspect/embodiment described herein may be reordered unless there is anyconflict. For example, the methods described in the present disclosureare presented using exemplary sequences to present elements of thevarious steps and are not limited to the particular order presented.

The specific operations described herein as performed by a network nodemay be performed by that upper node in some cases. In a network of oneor more network nodes having network nodes, it will be apparent thatvarious operations performed for communication with terminal 20 may beperformed by at least one of network nodes and other network nodes otherthan network nodes (e.g., but not limited to MME, S-GW, etc.). Althoughthe above illustrates that there is only one other network node otherthan the network node, the other network nodes may be a combination ofmultiple other network nodes (e.g., MME and S-GW).

The information or signals described in this disclosure may be outputfrom a higher layer (or lower layer) to a lower layer (or higher layer).It may be input and output through multiple network nodes.

Input and output information may be stored in a specific location (e.g.,memory) or managed using management tables. Input and output informationmay be overwritten, updated, or added. Output information may bedeleted. The input information or the like may be transmitted to anotherdevice.

The determination in this disclosure may be made by a value (0 or 1)expressed in 1 bit, by a true or false value (Boolean: true or false),or by a numerical comparison (e.g., a comparison with a predeterminedvalue).

Software should be broadly interpreted to mean, whether referred to assoftware, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware descriptionlanguage, or any other name, instructions, sets of instructions, code,code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules,applications, software applications, software packages, routines,subroutines, objects, executable files, executable threads, procedures,functions, and the like.

Software, instructions, information, and the like may also betransmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, whensoftware is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote sourceusing at least one of wireline technology (such as coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line) and wirelesstechnology (infrared, microwave, etc.), at least one of these wirelinetechnology and wireless technology is included within the definition ofa transmission medium.

The information, signals and the like described in this disclosure maybe represented using any of a variety of different technologies. Forexample, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits,symbols, chips, etc., which may be referred to throughout the abovedescription may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagneticwaves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons,or any combination thereof.

The terms described in this disclosure and those necessary forunderstanding this disclosure may be replaced by terms having the sameor similar meanings. For example, at least one of the channels and thesymbols may be a signal (signaling). The signal may also be a message.The component carrier may also be referred to as a carrier frequency,cell, frequency carrier, or the like.

As used in this disclosure, the terms “system” and “network” are usedinterchangeably.

The information, parameters, and the like described in the presentdisclosure may also be expressed using absolute values, relative valuesfrom predetermined values, or they may be expressed using correspondingseparate information. For example, the wireless resources may be thoseindicated by an index.

The name used for the parameters described above is not restrictive inany respect. In addition, the mathematical equations using theseparameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in thisdisclosure. Since the various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) andinformation elements may be identified by any suitable name, the variousnames assigned to these various channels and information elements arenot in any way limiting.

In this disclosure, terms such as “base station”, “base station”, “basestation”, “base station”, “base station”, “fixed station”, “NodeB”,“eNodeB”, “gNodeB”, “access point”, “transmission point”, “receptionpoint”, “transmission/reception point”, “cell”, “sector”, “cell group”,“carrier”, “component carrier”, and the like may be usedinterchangeably. The base station may also be referred to as amacrocell, a small cell, a femtocell, a picocell, or the like.

The base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells. If thebase station accommodates a plurality of cells, the entire coverage areaof the base station may be divided into a plurality of smaller areas,each of which can also provide communications services via a basestation subsystem (e.g., a small indoor base station (RRH) or RemoteRadio Head). The term “cell” or “sector” refers to part or all of thecoverage area of at least one of the base station and base stationsubsystem that provides communications services at the coverage.

In this disclosure, terms such as “mobile station”, “user terminal”,“user equipment”, “terminal”, and the like may be used interchangeably.

The mobile station may be referred to by one of ordinary skill in theart as a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, awireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, awireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriberstation, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, aremote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, orsome other suitable term.

At least one of the base stations and the mobile station may be referredto as a transmitter, receiver, communication device, or the like. Atleast one of the base station and the mobile station may be a devicemounted on the mobile body, a mobile body, or the like. The mobile maybe a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile (e.g.,a drone, an automated vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned).At least one of the base station and the mobile station includes adevice that does not necessarily move during communication operations.For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station maybe an IoT (Internet of Things) device such as a sensor.

In addition, the base station in the present disclosure may be read bythe user terminal. For example, various aspects/embodiments of thepresent disclosure may be applied for a configuration in whichcommunication between base stations and user terminals is replaced bycommunication between multiple terminals 20 (e.g., may be referred to asD2D (Device-to-Device), V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything), etc.). In thiscase, the above-described network node may have a configuration in whichthe terminal 20 has a function. The phrases “uplink” and “downlink” mayalso be replaced by the phrases corresponding to terminal-to-terminalcommunication (e.g., “side”). For example, an uplink channel, andownlink channel, or the like may be read by a side channel.

Similarly, the user terminal in the present disclosure may be read bythe base station. In this case, the base station may have the functionsprovided by the user terminal described above.

As used in this disclosure, the terms “determining” and “determining”may encompass a wide variety of operations. “Judgment” includes, forexample, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving,investigating, looking up, searching, investigating (e.g., searching intables, databases, or other data structures), ascertaining, and soforth. “Judgment” and “decision” may also include receiving (e.g.,receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input,output, and accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory) as “judged” and“determined”, and the like. “Judgment” and “decision” may also include“judgment” and “decision” regarding matters such as resolving,selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. That is, the“judgment” and the “decision” may include deeming some action to be“judgment” and “determination”. “Decision” may be read as “Assuming”,“Expected”, or “Considering”, etc.

The term “connected” or “coupled” or any variation thereof means anydirect or indirect connection or connection between two or more elementsand may include the presence of one or more intermediate elementsbetween two elements “connected” or “coupled” with each other. Thecoupling or connection between the elements may be physical, logical, ora combination of these. For example, “connection” may be read as“access”. As used in the present disclosure, the two elements may bethought of as being “connected” or “coupled” to each other using atleast one of the one or more wires, cables, and printed electricalconnections and, as a number of non-limiting and non-inclusive examples,electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency region,the microwave region, and the light (both visible and invisible) region.

The reference signal may be abbreviated as RS (Reference Signal) or maybe referred to as a pilot, depending on the standards applied.

As used in this disclosure, the expression “based on” does not mean“solely” unless otherwise specified. In other words, the expression“based on” means both “solely” and “at least based on”.

Any reference to an element using a designation such as “first” or“second” as used in the present disclosure does not generally limit theamount or order of those elements. These designations may be used in thepresent disclosure as a convenient way to distinguish between two ormore elements. Thus, references to the first and second elements do notimply that only two elements may be employed or that the first elementmust in some way precede the second element.

“Means” in the configuration of each of the above devices may bereplaced by “parts”, “circuits”, “devices”, etc.

When the terms “include”, “including” and variations thereof are used inthe present disclosure, these terms are intended to be comprehensive aswell as the term “comprising”. Moreover, the term “or” as used in thisdisclosure is not intended to be an exclusive-OR.

In the present disclosure, where an article is added by translation, forexample a, an, and the English language, the disclosure may include thatthe noun following these articles is plural.

In this disclosure, the term “A and B are different” may mean “A and Bare different from each other”. Incidentally, the term may mean “A and Bare different from C”. Terms such as “separated” or “combined” may beinterpreted as well as “different”.

The aspects/embodiments described in this disclosure may be used alone,in combination, or switched with implementation. Notice of a giveninformation (e.g. “X” notice) may also be given by implication (e.g. “nonotice of the given information”), not explicitly.

The core network 30 of the present disclosure is an example of acommunication device. The determination unit 302 is an example of areceiver or a receiver.

While the present disclosure has been described in detail above, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure is notlimited to the embodiments described in the present disclosure. Thedisclosure may be implemented as modifications and variations withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by theclaims. Accordingly, the description of the present disclosure is forillustrative purposes only and is not intended to have any restrictivemeaning with respect to the present disclosure.

This international patent application claims priority to Japanese PatentApplication No. 2019-228325, filed on Dec. 18, 2019, and the entirecontents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-228325 are herebyincorporated by reference.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   10 base station-   20 terminal-   30 core network-   40 QoS control web portal-   201 application unit-   202 communication unit-   301 calculator-   302 determination unit-   401 input unit-   402 storage device-   1001 processor-   1002 storage device-   1003 auxiliary storage device-   1004 communication device-   1005 input device-   1006 output device

1. A communication device capable of communicating with a terminal thatperforms wireless communication, the communication device comprising: areceiver configured to receive a request for network qualityrequirements from the terminal; a calculator configured to calculatenetwork quality requirements available to the terminal; a determinationunit configured to compare the request with the available networkquality requirements to determine whether the request is acceptable; anda transmitter configured to transmit the result of the determination tothe terminal.
 2. The communication device according to claim 1, whereinthe request includes a plurality of values corresponding to each ofitems included in the network quality requirements, the determinationunit determines, for each item, which of the plurality of values isacceptable and which is unacceptable.
 3. The communication deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the request includes one or more setscontaining values corresponding to each of the items included in thenetwork quality requirements, and the determination unit determines aset as a result of the determination, wherein the available networkquality requirements satisfy corresponding values in the set, withrespect to all of the items, wherein in a case where there are multiplesets, a priority number is set for each of the multiple sets.
 4. Thecommunication device according to claim 1, wherein the request includesa plurality of sets containing values corresponding to each of the itemsincluded in the network quality requirements, wherein in a case where alevel of one or more of the items defining a first set is lower than alevel of one or more of the item(s) defining a second set, a level ofitems other than the one or more items defining the first set is higherthan a level of items other than the one or more items defining thesecond set, the determination unit determines, as a target subject todetermination, each of items of a set defined by one or more of theitems defining the set whose level is lower than a level of one or moreof the items defining the set that is satisfied by the available networkquality requirements.
 5. The communication device according to claim 1,wherein in a case where the determination unit determines that therequest is not acceptable, the transmitter transmits alternative networkquality requirements to the terminal.
 6. The communication deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the receiver receives location informationof the terminal from the terminal, and the calculator calculates networkquality requirements available to the terminal based on the locationinformation.
 7. The communication device according to claim 2, whereinitems included in the network quality requirements include at least oneitem selected from a parameter associated with a latency, a jitter, anuplink data rate, and a downlink data rate.
 8. A communication methodexecuted by a communication device capable of communicating with aterminal that performs wireless communication, the communication methodcomprising: receiving a request for network quality requirements fromthe terminal; calculating network quality requirements available to theterminal; comparing the request with the available network qualityrequirements to determine whether the request is acceptable; andtransmitting a result of the determination to the terminal.